Making Purchases

University of Pennsylvania

Amazon Business Account

In an effort to improve the purchasing process through Amazon.com, Purchasing Services has established a centralized Amazon Business account for Penn’s Purchasing Card (P-Card) cardholders. Upon registration, P-Card holders can now make purchases from the University’s Amazon Business account for miscellaneous purchases of items not available with Penn’s preferred contract suppliers.

Through this central Amazon Business account, you will have immediate access to:

Access to a dedicated Amazon Business customer service team at 866.486.2360.

The University of Pennsylvania’s Amazon Business account is limited to those individuals approved to use a Purchasing Card for the purchase of goods/services on behalf of the University. The Amazon Business account is for business purposes only. No personal purchases are to be made through this account.

Additionally, it is expected that Amazon Business will be utilized only when sourcing miscellaneous items that cannot be obtained through Penn’s preferred contract suppliers. For items such as office supplies, computers, computer peripherals, course materials, lab supplies, etc., please continue to use the Penn Marketplace and Penn’s network of preferred contract suppliers as the first stop for acquiring supplies and resources.

How to Become a University Amazon Business Account Participant

Initial Requirements for P-Cardholders

Prior to registering for the University’s Amazon Business account, Purchasing Cardholders are required to:

Use their University email addresses for the University's Amazon Business account. It is important to maintain a separate account for personal purchases and not use an Amazon account established with a University email address for personal purchases.

Transfer personal Amazon accounts associated with University email addresses to personal email addresses (e.g., free Gmail or Yahoo accounts) before participants respond to the invitation to join the University's Amazon business account. See Amazon Business First Time Set-Up Guide for step-by-step instructions.

Purchasing Card holders should contact the Amazon Business Customer Service Team at 866.486.2360 if:

You have more than one Amazon account;

You already uploaded exemption information or created a business account on behalf of the University, and/or,

You experience issues with creating your new Amazon Business Account.

Process for P-Cardholders

Purchasing Cardholders will receive an email invitation directly from Amazon Business to join Penn's Amazon Business account. P-Cardholders must fulfill the initial requirements previously mentioned above prior to accepting the invitation.

P-Cardholders authorized to use Penn's Amazon Business account are required to:

Accept the invitation sent directly from Amazon Business.

P-Cardholders must utilize their P-Card for Amazon Business purchases made on behalf of Penn. No other payment methods are permitted for Amazon Business purchases.

Amazon Shipping Information

FREE Two-Day Shipping is available on all eligible orders. The qualified items are either Prime times or items shipped and sold by Amazon.com LLC. .

**NOTE: With this program and its benefits any Amazon Prime accounts should not be reimbursed or purchased moving forward. **

Sales Tax Refunds for Purchases from Third-Party Sellers

Purchases from third-party sellers may be taxed if the seller has not opted in for tax exemption in AMAZON through the University’s Amazon Business account. In the event that an Amazon seller charges sales tax, the department can request a refund by completing the Tax Exemption certificate.